On August 10, 2016, Brookings India hosted a private roundtable discussion on India’s membership of export control regimes featuring Mr. Vann H. Van Diepen, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Security and Non-proliferation (ISN) at the U.S. State Department. The discussion also featured Mr. Amandeep Singh Gill, Joint Secretary for Disarmament and International Security Affairs at the Ministry of External Affairs, and was moderated by Dhruva Jaishankar, Fellow for Foreign Policy at Brookings India.

India, having recently joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and bidding to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, is beginning to assume greater responsibilities in aligning its export controls of weapons, weapon technologies, and dual use technologies to international standards. Discussions at the roundtable focused on the implications of India’s MTCR membership, including for its space industry, the future prospects of India’s NSG bid, and the possibility of India’s entry to the Wassenaar Arrangement (which governs conventional and dual-use exports) and the Australia Group (which controls chemical and biological weapons exports). The importance, possible benefits, and best practices of each of the four regimes were discussed, as well as some of the technical and political stumbling blocks to India’s entry.

Like other products of the Brookings Institution India Center, this report is intended to contribute to discussion and stimulate debate on important issues. The views are of the discussant(s), contributor(s) or author(s). Brookings India does not have any institutional views.

Event Announcement

The proliferation of weapons and weapons technologies – nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, missiles, and small arms – is as important an issue as ever. With India joining the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and bidding to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) this year, the prospects and implications of India’s entry into the Wassenaar Arrangement (which governs conventional and dual-use exports) and Australia Group (which controls chemical and biological weapons exports) must also be considered.

Brookings India is organising a private and off-the-record roundtable with Mr. Vann H. Van Diepen on the prospects and implications of India’s entry to these export control regimes. Mr. Diepen is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) at the U.S. Department of State. He previously worked on weapons proliferation issues at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.